40 THE BUSINESS OF DAIRYING 



of the experiment indicated that green forage of the 

 same general composition as oats and peas may- 

 serve as the entire ration of dairy cows without in- 

 jury to the animals, and at a considerable saving in 

 the cost of milk, though the yield may be slightly 

 reduced. 



CHAPTER III 

 TOP DRESSINGS FOR SOILING CROPS 



It frequently pays to use top dressings on soiling 

 crops. This, however, is a matter which must be 

 carefully considered by the individual dairyman. 

 My experience has been that with early crops, par- 

 ticularly such as rye and wheat, this method of in- 

 creasing the yield usually results in a financial gain. 

 Several experiments were conducted to determine 

 this point. The plan was to use two acres in experi- 

 menting with each crop, one being treated with 

 nitrate of soda as a top dressing, while the other 

 untreated served in making a comparison. The fol- 

 lowing table shows the date and amount of applica- 

 tion on the diflferent crops and the yield on the 

 treated and untreated plots. 



The results indicate that crops of this nature may 

 be very materially increased by applications of ni- 

 trate of soda at the rate of 150 to 200 pounds per 

 acre. They also show that the treatment is profit- 

 able from a financial standpoint, especially early in 

 the season, when forage is not usually abundant. 



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